Thank you for joining us! My question, admittedly, is more focused on Scotland, but given the period I hope you might have some insight.

In scholarship of the Klan, it is readily accepted that the origin of the 'Burning Cross' in Klan imagery comes from fictional portrayal in Dixon's The Clansman, and that he in turn was drawing on alleged traditions from the Highland Scots. The problem there is that I say 'alleged' as scholarship on the 'Firey Cross' in Scottish tradition seems quite sparse and quite convoluted, filled with a lot of iffy 19th c. antiquarian musings - Dixon almost certainly drawing from the questionable history of Sir Walter Scott, for instance.

As such, I was hoping you might be able to offer some insight into the possible origins and application of the 'Firey Cross' in Scottish usage?

Dia is Muire duit!

We see a lot of casual statements that the native peoples in North America viewed the highlanders differently from the other British soldiers they encountered. Is there much to support this? How did the Gaels view them? I've seen the term coillteach used to refer to the indigenous peoples. Anything I've read though has been mostly from an Anglo perspective and extremely dated (for example, compared the noble Anglo-Saxon with the more debased native tribes and highlanders!).

This second one is more from my own Irish interest. I've seen it said that Irish/Scottish Gaelic speakers made up the third most commonly spoken languages in Canada during the 19th century. Do we have much record of how they interacted or viewed each other? In school in Ireland we were just taught that Newfoundland = Irish settlement, Nova Scotia = Scottish settlement and that was it. I'd love to hear more about it.

In the early period of migration, how insular were Scottish communities in America/Canada, while I know we can say cultural influences still persist, how long might we say such communities maintained a distinctive Scottish identity, as opposed to thinking of their communities more as Americans/Canadians of Scottish descent?

Your article 'Jacobite Past, Loyalist Present' presents selections from Gaelic poetry composed during the French and Indian War and the War of Independence. I'd like to know how much literature from this era survives, and whether it's been collected anywhere.

Ta’c léehyn (good day), Dr. Newton.

I've noticed some comments in this thread about Indigeneity. Many Indigenous cultures center their identities on being place-based or at least account for that to some degree. As an Indigenous person myself (Nez Perce from the Plateau), I am curious about your perspectives on this matter since your work largely revolves around Scottish Gaels in North America, people who are removed from their aboriginal homelands.

Where does the intersection of a place-based identity (or elements of such) and Indigeneity occur for you? Is a place-based identity relevant to cultural/political status for Scottish Gaels, particularly those in North America? How do claims to Indigeneity for removed Scottish Gaels interact with Indigenous Peoples of North America in your experience?

Qe'ci'yew'yew (thank you) for taking the time to be here with us!

What are your thoughts on the effects of Scottish Gaelic in the English dialect spoken in places like Appalachia? I've read suggestions that aspects of American speech in some regions (such as a- preceding verbs) were influenced by Gaelic but also that this came from certain British English dialects so I'm curious what an actual expert has to say on the matter.

I've always found it awkward that so many people in the Northeast US cling so hard to being "Irish," or "Scottish." What are the thoughts of celebrations such as Highland Games and claims of deep heritage in the US by the actual Scots?

I guess I am just really puzzled why people cling so hard to things like this when their family has been in the states for generations, and in many cases, much longer than my own (second generation American via Quebec), and I don't feel like it's needed for me to flaunt my Quebecois (even though I am fluent and enjoy trips to Montreal).

Where in North America did they primarily settle? I recently did an Ancestry DNA kit and found I have a lot of Scottish heritage but I’m curious as to where they congregated when they immigrated.

In The People of Glengarry, Marianne McLean establishes a model of linked family migrations over many years from Glengarry in Scotland to the new Glengarry and area in Ontario. Are you aware of other areas in Canada that might have seen similar linked migrations? Related, do you know any other resources related to Gaelic in Ontario, particularly Gaelic outside the Eastern Ontario area which Glengarry would have influenced. Would you agree with McLean's contention that Glengarry is "special" within North American Gaelic communities, and if so, how so?

Thanks for joining us!

Apologies if this is a little outside of your wheelhouse, but what is your opinion on the link between migrants from Scotland (and Ireland) and the U.S. Southeast and the development of a Southern "Culture of Honor"? The idea was popularized by Nisbett's book of the same name, and I haven't dived in to how well it was received, but it always stuck me as a "just so" story. What are your thoughts?

My mother is a Scottish immigrant to the US herself, and growing up we would frequently attend the local "Highland Games" in Tulsa. I'm curious as to the history of these type of festivals. While many ethnic groups host similar festivals in US cities, these are at least claimed-to-be connected to the still extant tradition of games in the UK. (My grandmother lives now in Braemar, where the games are a big deal.) Is there a continuous tradition of such events among the Scottish/Gaelic diaspora, or were they re-established at some point later due to changes in immigrant or American culture?

Is there any evidence of contact with Irish Gaels and mutual intelligibilty between them? Míle buíochas ó Éirinn.

Halò a Mhìcheil, mòran taing airson seo. Tha dà cheist agam.

The earliest migration of Gaels to North America is often said to be the settlement of the Carolinas in the 1720s/1730s. This immediately follows the expulsion of the Tuscarora, who had to flee north where they were eventually accepted into the Haudenosaunee Confederacy as a sixth nation. How actively involved were Gaels in fighting the Tuscarora off their own lands in the Tuscarora Wars? How much of a connection was there between the people that fought the Tuscarora and the Gaels who settled it? And how much awareness of the Tuscarora as a people who the land previously belonged to was there in Gaelic sources of the time?

My second question concerns the most infamous mac an Gàidheal of the United States, Dòmhnall Iain Trump. Trump's mother Màiri Anna Nic Leòid emigrated from Lewis in 1930. Was this part of a larger trend in Gaelic emigration to the US in the 1920s and 30s, or was this a more isolated incident of emigration? And is there any evidence that Màiri passed aspects of her language and culture down to her children?

Hi! Thanks for doing this. Were there any Scottish Highland immigrant communities in North America that printed or published in Gaelic or Scots? I don't think I've heard of a Gaelic book or newspaper in the US from before the 20th century...but I would be pleasantly surprised if there was one!

Hello! Thanks for answering our questions.

I've heard that Scottish immigrants had a strong impact on early American music. Is this true? If so, how did that happen?

Any sense of the mid-19th century migration to Prince Edward Island, Canada? My wife’s family came ´on the boat’ and still maintains contact with family near Skye.

If you don't mind a second question from me, I have family out west and I've heard bits and pieces of stuff that would be nice to know more about. What, if anything, is known about the now extinct Gaelic-based michif language and did its existence impact perception of Gaelic speakers in the Canadian prairies?

Is there evidence that Scottish Gaels in North America were actively involved in the Jacobite diaspora? For example, were any in correspondence with the Jacobite Court in Saint-Germain?

One part of my family were lowland Scots, from near Stirling, like many settled in Ohio in the mid -1800's and became , pretty uniformly, teachers or farmers. Their lives tended to be hardworking and somewhat grimly Presbyterian. By the grace of Barry Shears I've gotten to know more about Nova Scotia and the piping community there, and they are anything but grim. I have been wondering if the Highland Scots who found themselves cleared off and put into Canada generally cheered up, after they arrived? It must have been a better life than on a poor croft. mòran taing!

What do you think of the representation and the history presented in the so popular tv show Outlander? By your opinion, is it an accurate display of what Highlanders once were? Thank you very much.

What effect did Scottish immigrants have on American food? I heard fried chicken was originally brought by the Scots though have never heard of any Americans having haggis or black pudding for example.

I know it's after your AMA time, but as an American with Scottish heritage (though probably not from highlanders) who is in the process of learning Scottish Gaelic, I wanted to thank you for this. I felt I was just looking in all the wrong places when I went looking for information, and what little I did find never seemed to have any real academic writing behind it, just pop website stuff. I look forward to reading more by you!!

If you happen to read this: sincerely, thank you. Mòran taing!

Obh obh, tha ceist eile agam. John A. MacDonald, infamous persecutor of First Nations people in Canada: Was he a Gael? Or was his MacDonald surname no longer strongly connected to a Gaelic heritage for him? Was he connected to Gaelic diaspora communities in Canada?

Dzenniek argues in Fatal Land that Gaelic soldiers saw themselves as better than the indigenous people they encountered. You point to a song "We're Indians sure enough" in one of your essays, plus in "Glencoe and the Indians" Hunter details the intermarriage between some of the Glencoe MacDonalds with the Nez Perce. Would you argue against Dzenniek entirely, or were some settlers in certain areas more likely to be open to intermarriage with indigenous people?

Scotland's Highlands were much more Catholic than most of Scotland/England/Wales. Did the highland communities bring Catholicism to America, or were most of them Protestants? And if they did include significant numbers of Catholics, how did that affect their experiences in majority-Protestant North America?

Apologies if this question is somewhat niche. I’ve read recently reports of Scottish Travelers in Appalachia. However they seem to be distinct from the Irish or Romani Variant of Itinerant groups. Do you know how they came to be in America or if it’s just hearsay and misinformation?

Good morning Dr. Newton!

I have a question of a more personal nature, but ill try to direct it to be more broad.

My last name is Cameron, and my family has great pride in being "The Camerons," but, recently I visited Scotland, and went to Achnacarry to see where my family is from. The question that arose though, is that there's the official "Camerons" with a castle and family line and everything, and my family from Northern California, but how are the two connected?

Now, I never expected to be the long lost heir to a highland throne (as much as I'd wish) but how did we end up with the same name?

Sorry if its too specific or not what you're looking for, its just a shot in the dark question that's been bothering me for a while now. Thank you for your time!

Do you know of any military treatises or manuals, especially those dealing with the broadsword, in Gaelic?

Hi, my only question would be, how big was clan Cameron before some moved? I have Cameron blood in me myself, and my 4x great grandfather came to Texas from Scotland and now has a park in waco named after him.

Crud, I found this AMA too late. Would’ve loved to ask a burning question. I hope there will be a next time

But did they secretly bring the Stone of Scone with them?

My school (Western Washington University) is In Bellingham, Washington, all the way in the west coast by the Canadian border.

There is a lot of Scottish influence: bagpipes classes and clubs... and played at graduation. I myself did 3 years of competitive Scottish Highland Dancing (also offered as an athletic class). And of course annual Highland games which are a big thing.

I only knew one person who had any Scottish roots though. Was there a large population that and there at one point, or is my school just weird for randomly loving Scottish stuff?

Hello Dr Newton, thank you for this great AMA! I'm wondering, what cultural traditions of Gaelic origin remain?

Doesn't the Gaelic College in Cape Breton have some kind of Highlander program? My ancestors were forcibly resettled in Saskatchewan by Lady Emily Gordon Cathcart. They were from Benbecula in the Outer Hebrides.

What a wonderful area of study, that has struck a nerve! Thanks for the AMA!

I am wondering if you have any information about Isle of Lewis expats, many Gaelic speaking, in Montreal during the 1920’s?

My great grandparents emigrated separately from Lewis during the 20’s and met in Montreal, either through a Lewis Society gathering or through working at Sun Life Insurance. I’ve also heard that Sun Life recruited and sponsored highland Scots’ immigration, particularly from Lewis. Do you have any further insights?

I have two heirloom books from my g-grandmother: a Gaelic bible and English-Gaelic dictionary. Also my great grandfather was interviewed in the book Metagama by Jim Wilkie. They were both native Gaelic speakers.

Dr. Newton, my Paternal Ancestry has been traced back to John Booge, he was born in Glasgow (1661) and settled in North America in 1680. He was an original settler of East Haddam, Ct. my question is in regards to historical records in Scotland. I’ve be told that this is as far back as we can go due to a fire that destroyed at the records. Are there any other ways to research Scottish genealogy that you may know about?

I’ve recently been tracing my heritage on ancestry and came across an ancestor from Linlithgow who immigrated to a farming community in Illinois is the early 1800’s. What factors might have led to him immigrate and why might he have chosen Illinois?

What happened to feudal structures of highland communities when they arrived in North America?

Is there a body of research, book, or even discussion around colonization for Scottish Americans?

Specifically the idea that England was a colonizing state over Scotland and many Scottish suffered under colonization, but any who went to the US, even if fleeing colonization, ended up as colonizers of the Indigenous people here.

Would you have any thoughts or perspective on any or all of this?

(I’m trying to learn more about the answer to this vaguely worded question in reference to Ireland, where there may be more direct colonized->colonizer relationship)

In his book Black Rednecks and White Liberals, Thomas Sowell argues that aspects of modern American black culture, including in particular slang, were picked up from poor white immigrants from Britain, including Scottish Highlanders living in the Southern states. Do you think that is an accurate claim?

Did a lot of Scottish go to Prince Edward Island and why

What do you know about Scottish Country Dancing and it's popularity along the East Coast?

Hello Dr. Newton,

I've seen articles on the similarities between gaelic words/expressions to indigenous eastern woodlands peoples. Is there any good research available on that? Apologies if this has already been asked and answered. Ta

Hallo Dr. Newton agus tapadh leibh!

I had the opportunity to take a Gàidhlig course while studying abroad at the University of Glasgow about a decade ago and have recently taken it up again during quarantine. When I found the 'Naughty Little Book of Gaelic' I thought it would be a fun piece to add to my practice and I googled you to see if you'd written anything else. I wish I had known about your work sooner! I've been reading, watching, and listening to everything I can find. I just finished reading the amazing 'Warriors of the Word' and have bookmarked a few of your papers to start next.

My undergrad was in Anthropology and Geography (among other things) and your work has reminded (and rekindled in) me of those passions. I wanted to take this opportunity to thank you for all the long hours and deep effort you have put in to share your knowledge.

Do you have plans to offer your courses through Hidden Glen in 2021?

Not exactly a straightforward question, but I’ve read books like Albion Seed, which portray the influence of the Scotch culture in the U.S. but typically focus on Border Scots over the Gaels. Do you think that the two tend to be rolled into one in American scholarship, and if you’ve read it, what’s your opinion of the book?

Good day! Do you have knowledge of individual families?

Just wanted to say hi from the Alleghany Highlands of Virginia which is where my Scottish family settled. Lots of Anglican and Presbyterian folks here! It’s a special place.

Just wanted to say I'm having a good time reading through your PDF which answered my question regarding the why of

Scottish Gaels began to settle in the colonies of North America in the mid-1700s, in large part as refugees and emigrants under duress,

My immediate reaction was, why would you leave the Highlands, it's beautiful there. But your PDF explains it pretty well... quite bad what's happened there, and I had heard about the 'Clearances' when I visited Isle of Skye once but didn't know it was more widespread.

I suppose I could ask a question. What's your favorite place in the Highlands?